RIP Eric Altshule, Soccer Blogger, 1966-2010

With great sadness, I need to announce that Eric Altshule, a blogger for EPL Talk and MLS Talk, died this past Wednesday in Los Angeles from a massive heart attack. Eric is survived by his wife and two beautiful young daughters.

Eric’s brother said that “Eric was a passion­ate soccer fan, and loved more than any­thing contributing to [MLS Talk and EPL Talk]. Please pass this sad news on to your read­ers, and we sincerely thank you for the opportunity to let Eric participate in your web blog. His pas sion for soccer is some­thing we will keep in our family forever.”

Eric was a regular blogger on this site and will be sadly missed. By reading his posts, you could tell that he was a patriotic American who valued the growth of the game in this country. And he was also passionate about Arsenal, as well as an avid viewer of the Premier League on US television. Whenever he wrote for the site, you knew exactly where he stood on the issues. He wasn’t a fan of the current England national team. And predicted that they would fail in South Africa while many were predicting they would go far in the tournament. Bottom line, Eric’s posts were always a pleasure to read, whether you agreed with him or not.

For one of his EPL Talk assignments, Eric volunteered to attend the press day for The Damned United which gave him the opportunity to interview Michael Sheen and watch the film in Hollywood at a closed-door screening. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it, please do. It’s a perfect example of Eric’s attention to detail and how he gave us an inside look at a movie press day.

I asked his brother how we, EPL Talk and its readers, could contribute to his family. “If your readers would like to do some thing for the fam ily, a small donation to any local AYSO or soc cer club made on behalf of Eric Altshule would be a very nice ges­ture. If more kids participate in soccer, that would make Eric very happy.” To find your local AYSO chapter, visit the AYSO web site.

Eric was a graduate of Harvard High School for Boys in Los Angeles and Georgetown University. Eric spent a decade working on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, focusing on education policy and another decade working in international trade.

Eric, god bless. I will miss you and your passion for the game. I’ll never forget you and on behalf of EPL Talk, may you rest in peace.

About The Author

Publisher of World Soccer Talk, Christopher Harris founded the site in 2005. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Guardian and several other publications. Plus he has made appearances on NPR, BBC World, CBC, BBC Five Live, talkSPORT and beIN SPORT.
Harris, who was born and raised in Wales, has lived in Florida since 1984, and supported Swansea City since 1979. Last but not least, he got engaged during half-time of a MLS game.

Why Russia Could Beat England to Host 2018 World Cup…..Crap article Obviously filled with antiangloism….England is,and everybody knows it the obvious destination for the 2018 WC.
I’m 39 and in my lifetime i’m yet to see the beautiful game come home..(Forget 96euros) Germany 74(West),Spain 82,Italy 90,France 98 and Germany again in 2006.

The time is now for England to host the greatest show on earth…it will be amazing…Absolutely no vuvezelas allowed!!

JoeVegas71
Hey, douchebag, you’re missing the point of this column. It wasn’t to spout your imperialist pap about England and the 2018 World Cup, where the colonial upstarts of the football world will once again demonstrate how superior they are to the country that invented the game (hmm, reminds me of cricket and rugby). The point is to pay our respects to a good guy who died too soon, so if you don’t have something respectful to say, piss off.

JoeVegas71,
Your RIP above looks insincere when you post a self-serving message right below it. Get your own column and publish your England-as-the-center-of-the-football-universe nonsense there. Leave this for people who want to pay their respects.

Eric, my brother, was passionate about a few specially chosen bits of life: his wife, children, good food, and soccer high among them. Contributing to this blog fed his “addiction” and brought him joy. Eric didn’t say what was popular or expected, just what he believed to be true. (not only when speaking about soccer) For all who commented on this article, or any of his past articles, thank you. All comments were good comments in Eric’s book.

Eric was one of the rare breed of American soccer writer/pundit that was actually involved in the game at a localized level and who had a remarkable sense of history and perspective. His passing is a devastating loss for all of us in the American soccer community. His views often times were controversial, but Eric was never afraid to say what needed to be said be it about soccer/football in North America or the British Isles.

Several of Eric’s columns stick out as “keepers” as do his interviews that he regularly contributed for me when I hosted the Major League Soccer Talk podcast prior to accepting my current job with the North American Soccer League. But my favorite interviews of Eric’s was his excellent interview with Michael Sheen of Damned United and his review of the movie which gave many of the newer Premier League fans a preview of what they’d discover about life in English First Division circa 1974 in the film.

Eric, you will be missed and rest in peace. I’ll be making a donation to my local AYSO, whom I already work with closely in the name of Eric Altshule and I encourage everyone here to do the same.